Improvement in wrenches



S. C. ENGLUND. 'WREMHQ No. 191,412. I Pate-nt edMay 29118 77, Q

SAMUEL o; ENGLUND, on MOLINE, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN WRENCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 191,412, dated May 29,1877 application filed May 1, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL G. ENG-LUND, ofMoline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain Improvements in Adjustable Wrenches, of which thefollowing is a specification:

Myinvention relates to thatclass of wrenches in which a sliding jaw ismounted on a rack-' bar, and caused to lock fast thereon by means of aspring, and the object of the invention is to lessen the expense ofmaking and applying the spring to protect it from injury, and to admitof its being readily replaced by a new one without removing the jaw fromthe wrench; to which end the invention consists in casting the jaw witha suitable socket and mounting a spiral spring therein in such manner asto bear directly on the bar and leave its inner end exposed so that itmay be grasped and drawn out of the socket, and in forming a smallopening in the back of the socket, through which a new spring may beinserted.

Figure 1 represents a side view of my improved wrench; Fig. 2,alongitudinal section of the same.

A represents the body or bar of the wrench,

provided on its face with transverse ratchetteeth a, and on oppositeends with a fixed jaw, B, and a handle, 0, which latter may be made ofany suitable form and attached in any suitable manner, or omittedentirely.

D represents the sliding jaw, mounted on the bar A and provided with atoothed arm, 1;, which may be caused to engage in the teeth of the bar,so as to hold the jaw fast at any desired point thereon. The openingthrough the sliding jaw to receive the bar A is widened or enlarged atthe rear, as shown, in order to permit the jaw to rock or tiltsufficiently to engage and disengage the arm b. On the rear side of thesliding jaw there is formed a rigid arm or thumb-piece, c, extendingtoward the handle, as shown, so that the attendant, grasping the wrenchin one hand, can, by placing his thumb on the piece 0, unlock and movethe jaw at will. On the inside of the back of the sliding jaw there isiormed a round socket, e, in which there is mounted a spiral spring, f,bearing on the back of the bar A, and causin g the sliding jaw to lockfast and remain locked whenever the operator removes his thumb from thearm 0. In constructing the wrench the spring may be, and generally is,inserted through the interior of the jaw into the socket before the jawis applied to the bar A. In order that a new spring may be introducedafter the jaw is applied and the handle fastened on the bar, so as toprevent the removal of thejaw, a small hole, d, is made through the backof the jaw into the socket, as shown in Fig. 2. The old spring beingfirst removed by taking hold ofits inner end and drawing it forcibly outof the socket, one end of the new spring is inserted into the hole 01,and the spring rotated and pressed forward until it is wormed or screwedwholly into the socket. In making the wrench the movablejaw is castcomplete, with the socket and the hole d therein, ready to receive thespring, without being finished or fitted in any respect. The spring,which may be formed from brass or steel wire at a trifling cost, re-

, quires none ofthe'filin g, drilling, or other fitting necessary to thecustomary flat steel springs, and, unlike them, is seated loosely in itsplace without requiring screws, pins, or other devices to retain it inplace. By my method of constructing and arranging the parts I am enabledto greatly reduce the usual cost of constructing this class of wrenches,while at the same time I give the spring a better protection than usualagainst dirt and rough usage, and also employa spring, which is lessliable to be set or broken than the flat steel springs hithertoemployed.

I am aware that the combination of atoothed bar, a sliding jaw, and aspiral spring concealed in a sliding bolt and arranged to press the sameagainst the bar to cause the locking of the jaw, is old; and I am alsoaware that spiral springs and sliding jaws have been combined in variousother ways, and I therefore wish it understood that I make no claim tosaid features, except when they are constructed and arranged in thepeculiar manner shown in the drawings.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of thetoothed bar A, ing jaw D, provided with the socket e. to rethe slidingjaw D, cast complete in one piece, ceive a spiral spring, and with thehole d to with its toothed arm 1), arm 0, and socket 0, permit theinsertion of the spring without reand the spiral spring f seated in thesocket moving the jaw from the bar.

and arranged to bear directly upon the bar, SAMUEL CHRISTOFFER E withits inner end exposed, as and for the pur- Witnesses: pose described.HENRY E. LEWIS,

2.,In combination with the bar A, the slid- HENRY H. HILL.

